Web Design GUIDE

Typographical Elements

Description: It's not just what you put on your website that matters - it's how you present it. This is where a little knowledge of typographical elements can go a long way.

We are constantly being reminded that people don't visit search engines to look for pictures. They visit them to search for information. While it's important to have a website that looks good overall, the presentation of the information you include there is the most important aspect of all. You could have the best article on the whole of the internet about your specialist subject? but if no one can read it you won't get too many people hanging around to persevere with trying.

Welcome to the world of typography. It goes hand in hand with copywriting to produce copy that not only reads well, it looks good as well. When you are constructing your web pages you need to think about how readable they will be in terms of how the eye will go from one word to the next. If you don't use a typeface that is compatible with a computer screen the text won't be easy to read. In short, instead of the reader taking in the content of what you have written, they will be struggling to read it because of the non-user friendly typeface you have used.

It's generally advisable to use typefaces that have been created specifically for use online, such as Microsoft Sans Serif and Verdana. They take into account the fact that the images are made up of pixels, which make serif typefaces somewhat difficult to reproduce and read.

Of course you also need to bear in mind the size of the text, and the spacing used when deciding how the text will look on the page. As is often the case, experimentation is a good idea to ensure you achieve the best layout and the best final result.